Netflix is currently hard at work on a new season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, its live-action remake of the beloved animated series. The first season of Netflix's adaptation divided fans, but it was successful enough to get renewed for a second and third season, meaning the cast and crew will get to tell the whole story of how Aang, the last airbender, saves the world with the help of his friends.
Season 2 will introduce the last core member of his group: a young, blind earth-bender named Toph. In a show full of colorful characters, Toph may top them all: she's bold, fearless and hilarious, a 12-year-old so tough she sends grown men twice her age screaming out of the wrestling ring; and yes, Netflix has cast someone for that faux pro-wrestling scene.
But making the jump from animation to live-action means changes. To play Toph, Netflix has cast Miya Cech, who is 17 years old. Cech talked recently to Pacific Rim Video Press about what it was like taking on a role that she's wanted to play since she was 10, and how it'll morph a bit for this new version.
"I'm super-excited to keep the iconic-ness of the character while also putting my own little spin to it and making her my own," Cech said. "So yeah, I'm excited for you guys all to see it.
"She’s a little bit older so she’s not a little kid anymore. She is still that same spitfire, spunky character who gets to call a certain character ‘Twinkle Toes’...I think there are going to be a lot of things that the fans are going to remember from the animated series and a lot of things that they're gonna be excited to see that are brand new."
I understand why employing a literal 12-year-old to work long days on a film set might not be reasonable, so I'm okay with aging the characters up a bit. As for when season 2 might actually drop on Netflix, Cech couldn't say anything definitive. "We're still in production until March," she revealed.
In theory, that gives the team enough time to work its post-production magic and get the second season out by the end of this year, although I wouldn't be at all surprised if it got pushed to 2026. The first season of the remake came out in February of 2024, so all told I predict around a two-year wait for season 2. Since season 3 was already greenlit alongside season 2, perhaps that won't take quite as long.
So far, we have yet to see Cech in costume as Toph. Netflix did previously drop a little teaser video that featured Toph's foot, but Cech reveals in the interview above that the foot isn't actually hers:
While Netflix works on its live-action Avatar remake, original show creators Bryan Konietzko and Mike DiMartin are expanding on that series with new animated projects:
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h/t ScreenRant